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got be bike goin every thin was runninn sweet i then noticed the temp gauge was goin up and was at half way so i indicated to pull ova and the bike went bang!
oil was runnin out of 1 of the ports on the exhaust the bike will still turn over ok so i think the pistons are ok and its just the seals
i was told you can change them without takin the head off is this true if so how easy is it?
if not does any one know how much it would cost in parts to fix if i was to do it my self and how much a garage would charge amy info would be a great help thanks!!

i would say your looking at about £200+ at a garage, but they'll do a top end service with that too( or at least they should fkn do).

Never had to do valves myself so i have no idea about ease, but i'd imagine the head needs to come off and the engine dropped from the frame. RobB will be able to tell you more about this i reckon.


The new battery work ok then?

Its not something i know about actually, in fact i know bugger all about the engine at the moment. More about how to put the thing together is what i know

I do know that you need to drop the engine to take the head off tho. I think you can drop the engine slightly by taking out the front bolts and pivoting it off the rear ones but you may as well drop the whole lot as i expect it will be much easier to work on.

sounds like am goin to have a lot of fun i av neva touched a bike engine other than service and clutch etc but av rebuilt loads of cars only thing scaring me a bit is the timing chain is it easy to do ? do you have to change the tensioner ?
and dont supose any one knows the tightening sequence on the head bolts and the tourque stages ?
wheres best to get all the bits from gasket set head bolts etc ..i ve tryed a few places but they dont do them for the 400.
ad pay a garage put it would be quickier if i do it my self cause ya neva know jow long this sun is goin to last for!

where was the oil coming out of?

Out of the overflow pipe on the exhaust port? If so the oil must either be bypassing the piston rings, or its coming down the head from the valve.


YOu will be so much better off dropping the engine out of the bike, you can do this if you are a n00b in about 2 hours. Once you get used to it, you can drop the engine in oooh, 45 minutes including all the fairings off etc.

Take your time, get the workshop manual and also take digital camera photos of the wiring and where it was, it will help when putting it back together (ie where did this cable route etc much more hassle if you are removing the wiring loom also).

It will help if you get a second person to help you lower the engine though, you can use a trolley jack, probably your best bet, then actually lift the front of the bike and move it out the way with everything disconnected.

A new headgasket will be required if you are gonna take the top end off, and its wortwhile doing, you may want to get the cylinder head "surfaced" at an engineering firm since its off.

Im not sure if its going to be the valves or piston rings to be honest, you will know when you take it apart though. Its also much easier to work with it on the bench than in the frame, you can't see the timing marks very well when its in the frame (inlet side).

Oh yeah, make sure you put the bike into neutral before you disconnect the gear lever, otherwise timing it up becomes a bit more of a pain in the butt, as is leaving the spark plugs out when getting it to tdc

oil is comin out of one of the exhaust ports where the down pipe goes in the bike starts ok first time but just pisses out oil al check the pistons when i strip her down but they should be ok fingers x-ed thanks for the info al let you all know when she rides again!!!

You might find if you look more closely that the oil is coming from the spark plug oil drain which is just under the exhaust port. Many people make the mistake of headgasget failure ect. Its quite a simple fix...under the camcover there are 4 sparkplug shrouds with an 'o' ring top and bottom, when these perish oil leaks into the shroud and out of the vent hole, which is where i have described. Worth a further look